The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-03-25


and blood. Somehow she ooked un
| real.
Mrs. de Sille was alone for a mo
ment and Irejoined her.
Speaking OF Empire dresses, who Il
the lady yonder who wears, If know
enough OF u subject do not pretend
to MASTER u complete Empire dress
n"' looks as il her hairdresser hat
, md the wit to copy an old print ii
order to carry the fancy out?'
Mrs. de Sile did not look; she smil
ed good humoreIly.
"You elderly men," here she gave
me a wicked glance care too amusing
when you think you know something
about women's dress! You are much
nicer when young, for you do not pre-
tend to know. Not one OF my guests
wears an Empire dress tonight,
though some have them at home"
And she laughed n laugh from which
widowhood and the loss of more than
one lovely child had not rubbed the
silver.
go, very we'll" said !. perhaps
yon will condescend from your Olym'
pus of millinery and tell what the
dress is that the lady up there has on.
She seems to have carried the dcarth
OF conversation so lar that nobody
will talk to her"
Mrs. de Slle, put mp her tortoise
shell glasses with n pretty wrnkling
81 lie, fixed the figure for II moment,
put them down, and looked rather
blank.
positively, | do not know She
has not said good-evening to me, that
can swear--or she has changed her
dress since
It's rather queer, too" said |,
that so pretty n woman, MS lar as a
! figure goes, Tor cannot make out the
face, should have escaped me. As we
get on in life we grow horribly fastidi-
Gus and know all the finest women by
sight, even to the backs OF their heads.
Who can it be-"
The hostess beckoned to Tommy
Moore and asked him, but that beat
iiic youth averred that he didn't
know her from Eve. Reprovng him
with glance, Mrs. de Sille returned
to the charge.
"rake me round the room, and 10y
the time we Get to the big Bouguereau
| wager you theatre party | know
who she is.
So we set out on a somewhat peril
Gus threading OF the ballroom, stop
ping every moment to speak to some
one. The lady at the balustrade had
not moved but seemed to dreamily,
placidly survey the moving floor from
under her fan. Here was the Bougue-
reau, and now her features could be
indstinctly made out. We stopped,
and Mrs. de Sille began to bite her
lips.
"What impertinencel Is it posi-.
BILE? hay emit nm idea who sheis, and
! know as certainly rs ] stand here
that she was not asked Could it, o,
could it be one of those awful females
who report for the press?"
"She doesn't look like the breed, !"
/ said. "And if she's taking notes
they are mental"
"Go, dear good friend, do 90 and
talk to her; find out who, what she
isl will not permit such things to
happen in my housel The indecent
creature! Co"
It was not for me TO hesitate, seeing
that the aspect was most inviting and
/ was corroded with curiosity. TAX
ing a glass oil punch from the table be-
tween the broad flights OF stairs that
swept up to the gallery, ! presented
myself to the lady in the Empire
dress with my best bow. She did not
look Mt me, but waved it aside with
the faintest prettiest, haughtiest move
ment OF her head, Even then | could
not see her face; indeed from the floor
it was more dis tinct than near at hand,
whether because the palm branches
threw heavy shadow, or that her
fan managed to intercept the view
just when ] expected to see her feat
ures.
drew up an easy chair and seated
myself so that | could see the floor
and yet talk il she chose to begin.
Somehow the fan told me she knew
had come to stay. Certainly she had
the prettiest figure i'll the world, and
her milliner had intended that same
world to know it. The dark blue
silk modelled itself like wet linen to
surfaces that suggested plumpness,
but we're never full. The middle figure,
where women are straight or marked
with artificial curves, was charged with
delicate lines that gave little to her
breathing; ard the lower neck. pushed
high by q band of yet darker blue silk
OF a rough texture, seemed hardly con-
fined by the robe. The latter, though
split pretty far down the centre, Gov
cred the shoulders half to the neck,
leaving dazzling wedge of bosom,